Of course you want your own supercar to proudly polish on a Sunday morning, impress former ex-girlfriends as you drive slowly by their house and, most importantly, do doughnuts on Asda car park. But there is a slight hitch. The exorbitant cost. These iconic four-wheeled wonders are not for the likes of us. So we add even more decals to our Nissan Cherry and sob openly behind the wheel. But there is another way. Some manic gearheads out there have built their own supercars for buttons. All you need is a bit of mechanical know-how, a few spare parts and a dream. A crazy, impossible dream. Oh, and possibly a welding torch.
Wang Jian – Lamborghini
Chinese car nut Wang Jian always fantasised about being behind the wheel of his very own Lambo. He had his eye on the Reventon, but didn’t fancy the £1.6million price tag. No problem! Using a Volkswagen chassis, the engine from a Nissan and a load of sheet metal he put together this impressive looking knock-off. It still cost about £10K, but it’s a small beans compared to that satisfied feeling you get flying down the street to swathe of impressed glances. Except the authorities decided it wasn’t roadworthy, so it is mainly used to transport manure on the family farm. So it may not be a load of crap, but it’s used to actually load crap.
Henrik I. Matevossian – Maserati
Sometimes your dreams can be realised in an instant. Sometimes they take decades. In Armenia, they take decades. But this didn’t deter a determined car freak like Henrik I. Matevossian. In 1981 he looked around at the Soviet vehicular monstrosities available to him and decided that slow, boxy and grey coloured just wasn’t for him. He began to construct a bespoke Maserati, from his own personal design. After a brief delay while the Soviet empire crumbled and his country went to war, he’d completed his dream vehicle. In 2007. Still, it’s an impressive looking beast featuring actual Maserati parts, such as the gearbox, suspension, and the Biturbo V6 engine. Though the steering wheel comes from a Toyota, which slightly shatters the illusion.
Hannes Langeder – Porsche
Some enter the garage, tools in hand, with a vision of self-creating that vehicle they have always aspired to. Others are just taking the piss. Firmly in the second category is Herr Langender, an artist who decided to build a replica GT3 from tin foil and sellotape. Oh, and it rests on a bike chassis and is pedal-driven. In the sales video promoting the car, specifications such as its lightness (it doesn’t have any innards) and speed (it boasts about being the slowest Porsche ever made) are pointed out. So if you are a cyclist who hates cars or a car owner who hates bikes, this might be perfect for you.
Mike Duke – Bugatti
Even if you had the £1.5million that a Bugatti Veyron usually goes for, they are as rare as a pothole-free road, with only around 300 originally constructed. So, if you’re like car fanatic Mike Duke, what can be done? Just blow about a grand on a Ford Cougar and build your own Bugatti on top of it. You’ve saved several million and you don’t have to look at a Ford Cougar all day. Mike’s motor, which took 9 months to put together, may resemble a Bugatti, but underneath it’s all Ford. So rather than reaching 250MPH, it makes a more modest 140. But you won’t spend sleepless nights worrying about the petrol costs, your insurance rates or distant relatives bothering you, as they assume you’ve recently won the lottery.
Filandri Moreno – Urango
Cheeky! Not only did Senor Moreno spend four years building his own supercar, which he dubbed the Urango Hurricane, from scratch, he did it in Ferrari’s back yard. He planned, designed and built every aspect of this beauty in his backyard. That includes chassis, suspension and brakes. Brakes! How do you build your own brakes? The only bit he couldn’t manage was the engine, so it has an Audi 4.2 litre V8 under the hood. And what’s more, it’s completely unique. So far no-one has knocked on door and begged for the blueprints.
Doug Small – MG TD
Ok, so it might not be classed as a ‘supercar’ but the MG TD is a super car by any definition. Doug Small of East Moline, Illinois decided he wanted this classic 1950’s vintage motor, but didn’t want to shell out the spondoolicks on a real one. So instead he built it using a fibreglass shell placed on the light, cheap and easily convertible VW Beetle chassis. And the environmentally conscious Doug also wanted it to be electric, making the conversion even more difficult. So it doesn’t go very far and it can’t go very fast, but it does look pretty sweet.
1 Comment
Iv’e done a few dodgy DIY bits on cars but Some of these are terrible, however that Cougar reconstruction is amazing, unless you blow a spark plug how are you going to give it a realistic sound? when it starts up people will spot it a mile off? still looks amazing though.